Rescue Me
by autobotgirl12328
Summary: Before they were Rescue Bots, they were children. Before they were a team, they were alone. Before, the world was different.
1. I

I

Things were escalating, again. Just peering out the window, Blades could see all the smoke and fog of the cities just a drive away. His parents were out again, leaving him with his brother. Blades didn't mine Cross Switch, but he didn't like the idea of his parents leaving. They said they had work to do, that is their job was almost over. They never told him what their jobs were.

"The smokes clearing, must be almost over," Cross Switch murmured, coming up behind Blades.

"Which means they'll be home soon, right!?" cheered Blades, looking over his shoulder.

"Hopefully," grinned Cross Switch.

A knock at the door and Blades' spark dropped. Cross Switch glanced wearily at him before heading to the door. Blades moved for the hall, peering around the corner. His brother answered the door, revealing two armored guards. They held their heads low.

"We're sorry to inform you…"

Blades shook his head, running away. This couldn't be happening. They weren't coming home.

* * *

><p>Boulder kept his vocal processors silent. He didn't dare speak out against any one of his brothers. They were wrestling and fighting as per the usual. He was reading or trying to. He didn't want them to know anyway. His brothers weren't much of the reading type after all. He could afford new data pads every other day, finishing the new ones usually the day before getting a new one.<p>

"Yo, Boulder! Throw in a servo!" ordered his brother, Bulkhead.

"Please, like he'd be helpful," spat Breakdown.

Boulder rolled his optics. He liked to read, not wrestle. He moved away from the living room, heading upstairs to one of the bedrooms. It was at least quieter. He wanted to finish his data pad, anyway. It was a history pad, sometime before known as the Golden Age. He found it interesting. Entering the room, his mother peered out and glanced at him before returning to her room to finish cleaning.

"Someday, I'm gonna have my own space," grumbled Boulder, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

><p>"Chase, slow down!"<p>

Chase liked to run. Maybe that was why his name was Chase. It didn't matter. Running was running. It drove his parents insane though. The second the door opened to the outside world, he was off running. He couldn't be stopped and wouldn't stop until he was completely drained. That took a few hours. today, he could feel his dad's impatience though. He was breaking the rules now, leaving the house without permission. He didn't care much for rules though.

"Chase! Chase! No!"

Chase stopped, looking to his right. He stopped dead, staring into the headlights of the vehicle bot that was driving toward him at top speed. He could hear his father. Rules. He broke the rules.

* * *

><p>It was getting dark. The city's lights were damaged almost everywhere. Most the buildings were busted too. Nothing worked and everything was destroyed. What wasn't destroyed barely functioned. Not that he mined. He was used to it by now. Everywhere he went was nothing but busted buildings and broken homes.<p>

Had to duck between lights, he thought to himself. Didn't want to get caught by guards tonight anyway. Flowing in and out of the shadows proved difficult though with his bright red chest plate. Tonight seemed different though, tonight ever guard seemed bent on finding any survivors from this latest battle. He snarled, ducking between buildings.

"Halt!"

A guard grabbed him by the arm, stopping him in his tracks. The young bot snarled, struggling against the hold. The guard shook his head, kneeling down to deal with the child.

"Kid, what are you doing here?" the guard sighed. "Where are your guardians?"

"Let go! Let go!"

"Kid, you got a family?"

"No," he snapped.

"You got a name?" growled the guard.

The child grinned, "Heatwave."


	2. II

II

Blades sat on the deck, kicking his legs as he watched the day start. It had been a long night of talking with officers, consulting, and making the whole event seem like their fault to begin with. Cross Switch had tried his best to keep Blades away from the arguments and talk, but the younger brother, since curiosity overtook him, had snuck to the top of the stairs to listen. His guardians were dead. They had died in combat, the officers said, but Blades wasn't completely sure what that meant. Nonetheless, the officers seemed concerned about the lack of replacements for the two positions.

"What are you trying to say?" snapped Cross Switch.

"We have a low supply of enlisted soldiers, son," one officer instructed.

"What do you expect? I can't just leave my brother behind," hissed Cross Switch, motioning toward the stairs. "I'm the eldest, I have to support the family now."

"And you will support it," ordered the second officer.

"As the eldest offspring, you are required by the draft to support our troops," sighed the first. "We can arrest you for treason otherwise."

"And my brother?" yelled Cross Switch. "I'm not abandoning him! If I die, what's he got left!?"

"He'll be transported to the Youngling Center in town. Tons of sparklings and younglings are being sent their because of the war," instructed the first officer. "He'll be well cared for there…until your return."

"After the war," added the second officer.

Blades leaned in, seeing Cross Switch cross his arms and nod. The officers nodded too, leaving. They shut the door behind them, leaving Cross Switch alone in the living area. He screamed, throwing the side table across the room. Blades watched in horror as Cross Switch practically destroyed the living area before finally collapsing to the ground, sobbing. He didn't hear Blades slip down the stairs, standing in front of him.

"Are you going away?" whimpered Blades.

Cross Switch lunged forward, taking Blades up in a hug. Blades didn't move or speak, simply letting his sobbing brother continue crying. He knelt beside him, feeling the warmth of his older brother. He didn't know how long they sat like this, but it felt like the last time Blades was going to see Cross Switch for a long time.

* * *

><p>Boulder sighed, watching his brothers take all the data pads out of their shared room. They piled them up in the hall where their father took them downstairs and outside. Bulkhead avoided eye contact with him, while Breakdown just grinned every time he passed by. Boulder was held in the arms of his mother, watching as his collection was being taken away. Eventually, they were all gone as he heard his father's engine rev, howling throughout the quiet neighborhood. Finally, Boulder was released.<p>

"Why?" he pleaded.

"We need the money," sighed his mother. "I got let go the other day and your father has had to pick up more shifts at the plant."

"Boulder and I are gonna get some side jobs too," snapped Breakdown. "So why don't you stop being a sparkling!"

"Breakdown," shouted Bulkhead, slapping Breakdown.

The two broke into a fight, tumbling in the hall and nearly falling down the stairs if it had not been for their mother who stepped in to break up the fight. Boulder stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. He could still hear his brothers bickering. It didn't matter. He slipped one hand under his berth, picking out the last of his collection which he had kept out of sight. It was an environmental study of different planets, with things he had never seen. Planets, animals…they were wonderful and something of a dream. He couldn't lose it. Hugging it close to him for a moment, he ducked back down and hid it under his berth.

* * *

><p>Chase hadn't spoken in days, which was making his mother worry. He had devoted his spare time into ready some of the data pads his father once stressed him to read. There were pads on laws, ancient judgement rituals, and the workings of the government. His father had always pressured Chase into the idea of joining the military, something Chase wasn't completely sure about, especially at his young age. Now, Chase just wanted to get what had happened out of his head.<p>

"You know it wasn't your fault," whispered his mother, sitting beside him. "It was that driver. He should've stopped."

"I shouldn't have been running," replied Chase.

"Its something natural at your age," hummed his mother, pulling him in close.

"Then why was he telling me to stop?" Chase corrected, slipping free.

"Your…father was a very strict man. He wanted nothing more than for you to follow the family line like he did and like his fathers before him," sighed his mother. "He's with them now, in the Well of All Sparks."

"He shouldn't be there. He should be here," whispered Chase, turning away.

* * *

><p>Heatwave glared at his captors. That's what he was calling the Youth Community Center staff. They weren't exactly his type of bots, happy and friendly. He didn't want to be here and no doubt they didn't want him their either. Trapped in his little room, complete with two bunks for other 'guests'. Their had been other children in his room but apparently he had scared them away with his 'charming' personality.<p>

"Is you keep this up, Heatwave, you'll be alone for the rest of this war!" howled one of the orderlies. "What do you want to do when you grow up?"

"Anything but this," grumbled Heatwave, curling up in the top bunk.

"Don't sass me, young man!"

Heatwave grinned. He had broken one of them. She would be taken aside and talked to. He probably wouldn't see her for a day or two until she had restocked on patients. He chuckled lightly, hearing her leave in a huff. Everyone had been busy lately. New people were coming. Heatwave's smile left. New people weren't his favorites. More bots to judge him.


	3. III

A/N

Sorry for the delay. College is insane, I got addicted to Town of Salem, I'm watching Star Wars Rebels and rewatching Batman: the animated series. Such a busy life I live!

III

Blades leaned on the railing of the balcony. It had been far too long since he'd seen Cross Switch, but the message he got yesterday told of his hopeful return. He hadn't gone home in so long, felt his bed beneath him. While the children's home was always full of people and he rarely felt lonely, it was nothing compared to the feeling of having his brother beside him again. He could see the train coming in over the tattered buildings. He smiled, leaning further on the railing.

"He's here! He's here!" Blades called to no one in particular.

There was a sudden snap and everything seemed to freeze for a split second. Blades felt his hands glide down the metal railing and into the open air. His leg slipped off the flooring, following his hand into the open air, a whole story and a half above the ground. His body leaned forward, falling off the balcony. His optics remained transfixed on the train as it puffed smoke into the sky. Soon the buildings rose up, hiding the train from view. Then he hit the ground.

—

Boulder did his hardest to move the spare parts from one end of the yard to the other. Meanwhile his brothers moved with easy, quickly racing around each other to see who was faster while Boulder struggled with the task. If it was up to him, he would be inside rereading his last data pad yet again. The three of them had to work to pay rent though. Their mother was looking for work which apparently was growing more and more rare around the town. His father worked more than he was at home now, making it a special occasion when Boulder happened to see him as he came in for a quick recharge or before he left for work again.

"Hurry up, Boulder!" ordered Breakdown. "Bulk and I have nearly finished our part!"

"I'm trying," whimpered Boulder, moving another piece over.

"Cut him some slack," yawned Bulkhead. "We never had to do this at his age."

"War wasn't bad then," shrugged Breakdown.

"Shut it!" snapped Bulkhead, shoving Breakdown.

The two broke into a full out brawl, tumbling right down the path Boulder would normally travel in order to move his parts. With a sigh, Boulder loaded up with his next batch of parts, carefully moving around his brothers in order to place them in their correct spot.

—

Chase sighed, looking out his window. His mother was late again. She said she would be home exactly by 9:30. It was now almost ten. Chase liked knowing where she was, even if he was just a kid and she was his mother. She worked hard for him, since his father died. Chase gulped, shaking his head. If his father was still on line, his mother wouldn't have to work as much as she does. He offered working. He'd heard of working younglings and he was surely old enough for lifting or construction or something. She refused to have him work. She said he deserved a childhood.

"Chase?"

Chase leapt from his chair, racing downstairs, finding his mother collapsed on the chair. She offered him a small wave, shutting her optics and slipping into recharge. Chase sighed, sitting beside her, reopening his data pad. If his timing was right, she'd wake up in time for her next shift. Until then, he didn't mind sitting here with her.

—

Heatwave groaned, rolling his optics. Crying. All he could hear was crying. A new batch of younglings and sparklings had just made it in, meaning the whole place was busy and full with crying kids who lost their family or were relocated while their family was sent away. Heatwave hated the sound of them. Did they know others had lived like this a lot longer?

"I heard the children's center a few towns over is having problems," mumbled a orderlies outside his door. "We might have to pick them up too."

"Them too?" gasped the other. "We just can't hold them all."

"I've heard the war might be over soon," added a third. "I've heard talk of a new order or rather a reconstruction system."

"A reconstruction system?" grumbled Heatwave, slipping from his bunk. "Sounds like a bunch of slag."

With that, Heatwave opened his window and sat on the sill, kicking his feet in the open air. He sighed, leaning back slightly, watching the sun set gently over the horizon, giving an unnatural red glow to the nearby buildings.


End file.
